Not By Choice
by Fwgaltx
Summary: Haruhi Fujioka's life is normal. Well, as normal as a sixteen-year-old commoner in a wealthy school and in a crazy club can be. But she has a secret. One that she can't tell her hosts about. The truth is her name isn't Haruhi Fujioka but Anri Sohma. If the Sohma's realize she is no longer a zodiac, there is no telling what Akito will do to her.
1. Prologue- The Day Haruhi's Life Changed!

Prologue- The Day Haruhi's Life Changed!

Kyoya couldn't believe how frivolous Tamaki is being this week. They are at least a thousand dollars over budget. He just had to have that authentic vase from the renaissance period. How typical of him. But that is to be expected of their King after all.

Kyoya studied his black book. The classmates that are Otakus call it the death note, but it's just an ordinary notebook. It has everything from the clubs accounting to information of all his business prospects and personal clients lives in it. Anything he thought could get him a step up toward becoming the head of his family. But honestly, he doesn't want to run the business or anything like that. All he cares about is his family honor and surpassing his father's expectations of him. He likes challenges and life gave him a big one being born into this family.

"Senpai?" the voice instantly takes his attention from his thoughts.

"Yes? What is it?" Kyoya states looking slightly down to the small, brown pixie-haired girl's face.

"We are all going to my house after club, do you want to join?" Haruhi asks.

Pushing his glasses back in place, Kyoya thought for a second. He has homework for several classes, and he promised Fuyumi He would treat her to dinner tonight. But he could do that tomorrow. "Fine." He replies, going back to his notebook.

ꬸ

After club, the seven hosts began walking to Haruhi's house. It's a fifteen-minute walk, but it gives them time to talk so no one is objecting the trip.

"We need to do a samurai theme next week!" Tamaki states while happily skipping backwards. Kyoya has no earthly idea how that blonde-haired fool didn't trip over his own feet.

On Friday they decide on what theme they will be doing the next week, but it always takes a while to decide on one. Because of this, Kyoya drowns him out and continues on.

When they reached the house, the hosts notice a car parked in the driveway that isn't usually there. "Are you having company over Haru-chan?" One of the oldest, yet smallest hosts, Honey-Sempai asks, as they walk up the stairs to Haruhi's flat. "Not that I'm aware of." She says, a little frustrated by her father not saying anything earlier about having company.

They pile in while Haruhi announces she is home with the hosts. Her father pokes his head out from the dining room. He looks at the hosts as long maroon hair falls past the bandana on his head and into his eyes, then back in the dining room, obviously trying to decide something. He goes back into the dining room for a moment and then reappears with an oddly familiar man. He's tall and skinny with slightly long black hair and purple eyes. He has on a suit and tie and Kyoya can see in the next room the man has a briefcase with him.

Haruhi sucks in her breath for a second but then composes herself. "How are you Hatori-kun? What brings you here?" To Kyoya, Haruhi almost sounds scared. Not of the man per se but it seems like the man's answer might be a death sentence to her.

"Several reasons." The man never moves or shows any emotion.

"Is it time?" Haruhi timidly asks. The man tilts his head like he doesn't want to say whatever needs to be said, but finally he nods. Haruhi let out a whimper. An actual whimper. Kyoya looks back at the man named Hatori, trying hard to remember where he heard that name before.

Then it clicks. Hatori Sohma, the prestigious doctor of the Sohma family. The Sohma's are the wealthiest family in Japan. Hell, they might just be the richest family in all the world. What on earth is a Sohma doctor doing in this house? As far as Kyoya knows, Haruhi or her father, Ranka, isn't sick or in any way in need of a doctor, especially one of this sort. Furthermore, what does Haruhi mean 'Is it time'? Time for what?

Hatori gazes over the hosts for a moment and finally lands on Haruhi. He gives her a questioning look to which she shakes her head, eyes wide. Does he think we're fooling around with her?

"Is there a place we can talk in private? Maybe outside?" Hatori asks Haruhi. She nods, and they walk outside. Kyoya looks back at Ranka who decides then to occupy himself with making them tea. Kyoya steps toward the window. Haruhi is clutching herself, more like shriveling into herself. Whatever this man is telling her could not be good if this strong and independent girl is closing the world off to it.

ꬸ

Outside, Haruhi looks down to the ground, listening to Hatori. "Akito has sent me to collect you. He wants you back with him. You will live with; your brother, Yuki and this girl Akito is keeping as sort of an experiment at Shigure's house." He says experiment like it's a nasty word. Who is he talking about? Akito would never let an outsider into our world, especially a girl living with cursed boys.

"Does she know?" Haruhi asks.

He nods and says, "A lot has changed since you were last with us. Yuki and Kyo are getting along. Well, more like fighting less aggressively. And this Tohru girl, she has changed a lot of us. Maybe she'll even change Akito a bit."

With that Haruhi uncurls herself, shooting her head up and with wide eyes rasps, "What are you saying? Yuki and Kyo actually being civil enough to live together? And Akito turning good? All because of this girl?" Haruhi can't wrap her head around it.

Hatori gives her a sympathetic look. "You need to come back. You can still stay in your school. Akito doesn't have to know you spend time with boys." Hatori pauses then asks, "Why are you spending time with boys? How are you spending time with boys?" Haruhi gives an amended version of her year with the club. Of how she is now in debt because she broke an expensive vase of theirs. That now she has to pay it off by pretending to be a guy and becoming

a host.

"That still doesn't explain why they are at your house now when your club is over for the day or how you can be around them without turning." Then realization dawns his face and he breathe out, "You're not a zodiac anymore."

Haruhi gives a strained smile, hugging herself closer. "No." She begins to shake. "No, I'm not a zodiac anymore. I haven't been for a while. But Akito… Akito can't know that. He'll beat me and lock me up for sure if he found out." She starts to get hysterical. "I… I don't want to go back. I have a life here. I have dad and the hosts. I have a real life here. I can never have one at the main house. I don't want to go back to being a zodiac, I want to be me." Voice wavering in the last part, Haruhi looks down at the ground again, trying not to cry. She hasn't cried since her adopted mother died. She won't let herself sink that emotionally low again. "But, I guess… I guess I have no choice."

Grinding his teeth, the young man takes a second to think. He finally straightens. He will protect Haruhi the best he is able to. But that also means following Akito's orders. "Come on. I promise I won't tell Akito anything we discussed. Now, let's go back inside. You can pack later tonight all your things. You won't be coming back here though, but you still have one last night with Ryoji and your friends. Go in there and make it count."

Haruhi looks up and gives another strained smile. "Yes, I will. Thank you Hatori-kun." And they disappear inside.


	2. Ch1-Three Zodiacs, a God and a RiceBall!

Chapter 1- Three Zodiacs, a God and a Rice Ball!

The next morning was cloudy but the weatherman said it wasn't supposed to rain today. Haruhi wasn't so sure. But she put all her possessions that she could fit inside her two suitcases and put it in Hatori's trunk. To think that her sixteen years of things she acquired throughout her life boils down to two dirty suitcases. She must leave all the rest forever behind her or at least till Akito says she can move back. But knowing Akito she'll be on his leash till she dies.

It was about an hour and a half drive to Shigure's house. They did not chat along the way but Hatori did play classical music. Besides, what was there to say? Hatori just took her away from her father and her friends. He took her away from her nice semi-peaceful life. And now he was going to throw her back to the lion she's been cowering from her whole life. But it wasn't his fault and Haruhi knew it. That's why no one talked on the ride over. There was nothing to say.

They finally pulled up to this quaint little house surrounded by woods. They got out and went to grab the luggage. Haruhi took a moment to look at her new home. She liked it, it was cute. Then the door slid open and Shigure came running out, enveloping her into a hug. Shigure was finishing up high school the last she saw him, but since that was quite some time ago and now, he's twenty-six, he looks like he is doing fine for himself. "Oh Anri! My precious cousin! It's been too long! Come here and let me look at you better! Ah I see you've grown into yourself!" Haruhi blinked then followed his eyes to her breasts. She then used one of the techniques Mori-sempai and Honey-sempai taught her to protect herself from perverts on her dear cousin.

"Ow Anri that hurt!" Shigure whined as he rubbed his head. "My name is Haruhi now and that's what you get for staring at my breasts!" Haruhi huffed and walked past into the house. "Don't look at me like that, you deserved it." Hatori replies to Shigure's sad look as he too goes into the house.

Once inside Haruhi takes in the new house while Shigure puts her bags in her room. It was an amazing house. Bigger than her apartment but not as big as the hosts mansions. It just felt cozy. "By the way, where are the others?" Haruhi inquires to Shigure. "Ah, they're with some friends playing Old Maid." He waved his hand to the outside world lazily like one of us zodiacs having friends out there was common. "Akito wanted you here yesterday but I thought you could use this time to get settled better with less people around." Haruhi nods "Thanks, I'm going to my room to unpack."

Haruhi went to her room but instead of unpacking she just stared at her bags. She felt like if she unpacked that all this would be real. She didn't want it to be real. After what seemed like an eternity staring at her bag, trying not to think of anything, she heard a voice. "Just staring at those bags won't unpack them," Shigure leaned up against her door and tilted his head, "Or anything else your trying to keep shut." He was right and Haruhi knew it. Second time within two days someone said something intelligent that she wanted not to be true.

Throwing open the luggage with a sigh Haruhi began unpacking. When she was done she collapsed onto her bed. She peeked out over her arm she had flung over her eyes to look at Shigure who was still standing at the door. "What?" She questioned. "Hm," He hummed out looking questioningly at her "Lunch is ready." He turns and saunters off.

The rest of the day was spent playing checkers. After lunch Hatori left to go take care of Momiji. It was nice just the two of them. They never hung out when they were younger, their ages and zodiacs having a lot to do with it, but this was a nice change. They got so caught up in playing that they were very shocked when the door slammed open and a loud angry voice rang into the house. Shigure hummed for a second then said, "Guess we will pick this up another time eh Haruhi?" Haruhi nods but was more interested in the three kids piling into the house.

"WELL I DEFINITELY BEAT YOU, YOU DAMN RAT, SO TAKE THAT!" Kyo yells as he slips out of his shoes. "It was obvious that you didn't, stupid cat." Yuki softly retorts. Then Haruhi heard a girl laugh before saying "At least you did better than me. I am very bad at Old Maid, but at least we had fun!"

Haruhi stood up and stuck her head around the wall. Yuki was standing in front of the girl so Haruhi couldn't make her out, but Yuki was looking ever so princely in his Chinese-style clothing. His gray eyes looked bored but polite. As for Haruhi's brother, Kyo stood at the edge of the stairs, his orange hair as messy as she remembered. His hands were in fists beside his cargo pants but after the girl said her previous statement, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked Haruhi's way.

It took Haruhi a second to realize Kyo was embarrassed. Ha! Now she had something to hang over his head if they got into an argument, which with him was inevitable. But in that second Kyo met her eyes and surprise spread over his face. "AH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he yelled at her. Really? Did he not have an inside voice? Haruhi thought to herself. She stepped out into the hall as the other two heads swiveled her way.

Haruhi looked at the petite girl. She could see why Kyo had a crush on her. Her hair was in two small blue bows, pulling her brown hair back to the sides. She is wearing a cute short dress with brown school shoes. She looked cute. Haruhi didn't fully trust her though. How can this girl change so many zodiacs, including Akito?

The girl pushed past the boys and held her hand out. "I am Tohru Honda, nice to meet you! Um, do you mind me asking are you a zodiac?"

Haruhi nods to this "Yes, my name is Haruhi fuji-Sohma. Haruhi Sohma. I am the White-Tailed Deer." Haruhi hastens through the last part, silently cursing herself for using the name she was given instead of the name she was born with. But she wasn't ready to give up her whole name just yet, so just her last should suffice.

Kyo and Yuki exchanged a glance. They never knew of her name change. Apparently though they didn't care to ask since Yuki walked up to Haruhi and Tohru and instead asked why she was there. "Akito sent for me. He was missing me." Was all Haruhi donned to say. Yuki and Tohru accepted this but Kyo gave Haruhi a knowing look. Knowing what the question was. What did he think he knew? Haruhi thought of her last day with her brother.

 _Ten years ago_

" _Dad!" A hysterical five-year-old Kyo shouted as his father packed his car. "Don't do this! Don't leave me behind!" He pleaded for his dad to stop. He needed his dad to stop. He wanted his dad to envelope him into his arms and tell him everything will be alright. That it was not his fault that his mother died. That his father, sister, and himself could live happily in that house. That Kyo being the cat had no effect on the family. But that would be a lie._

 _Why? Why would father take Anri and not Kyo? Why couldn't he take both or leave them both behind. Kyo looked from his dad to little Anri sitting in her car seat in the back. She was just a year younger and being the older one he needed to protect her. But if she left who would he protect? This isn't fair! Kyo felt a burst of anger but he didn't know to whom it was meant to be for. He couldn't help being the Cat just like Anri couldn't help being the Deer. Why is the Cat inferior than even the Deer! The Deer is just as unwanted and forgotten as the Cat! But not as ugly. That's why he wasn't going with them. He was ugly, frightening and cursed. No one wanted him._

 _Anri watched her brother beg their dad to stay through the car windows. Just an hour ago, she was told to pack her things into a bag and after was thrown into the car. She understood what was going on to a degree. She was a smart kid. She knew she and her father was going far away but she didn't know where. She knew her brother was being left behind but she didn't know why. She knew she would never return to the estate, but she didn't know why to that either. She didn't like not knowing stuff._

 _Anri heard the crash of the trunk being slammed shut. She watched as her father got into the car. She watched her brother run after them as they pulled away. She watched the scenery change with tears in her eyes, but none fell. She watched her dad pull into a driveway. She watched as a man and women emerged. She watched as her father got out and opened her door. She watched as she was given away. She didn't watch as her father drove off, never to be seen or heard of again._

Haruhi shakes her head to drown out those memories. She long forgot being Anri. She was right though, there was no reason for Kyo to give her that look, he never knew what became of her. He didn't know she was given away to the Fujioka's. All he knew was that she left with father. He probably thinks she stayed with him. Haruhi needed to get him alone, they had a lot to talk about.

Tohru excused herself to go make dinner. Haruhi took the opportunity to go take a bath and to clear her head. Being here was dredging up memories she wanted to keep hidden. Or at least till she was more accustomed to her new household, since they obviously won't recede back into her subconscious.

As Haruhi leaves Kyo gave her a face like he wanted to say something, but she beat him to it. "Let's catch up nii-san. Come by room tonight and we can chat." He nods and Haruhi heads to the bath. But he never came to her room. Haruhi wondered why. She would go to him, but she assumed if he wanted to know so badly he would of came. She just hoped he didn't resent her for leaving him behind. It wasn't like her five-year-old self could have done anything, but she did feel a little guilty for not putting up a fight. Haruhi sighed while rubbing her temples. All this thinking and changes were giving her a headache. She turned over and let darkness consume her.


	3. Chapter 2- Praise God!

Chapter 2- Praise God!

Haruhi rushed downstairs to the kitchen. She overslept, which wasn't much of a surprise given her life just turned upside down. She wanted to make breakfast for everyone this morning but that would have to be another day. Sitting down at the table, she looks at all the food sitting out. Such delicious foods were arranged that she realized that just making everyone omelets wouldn't cut it.

Tohru sat down putting the last dish on the table. Yuki and Shigure were already seated when Haruhi came in. "Where's Kyo?" Haruhi asks, taking a sip of tea.

Shigure gives an exaggerated sigh singing out, "Kyo is always late to breakfast, if ever he does come.

"SHUT UP DOG!" Kyo barks as he sits down. "I do come down for breakfast and all the others." Grumbling, he begins to make his plate. Haruhi and the rest join in.

The food is so delicious. Haruhi is sure that she can't make anything half as good. She hopes she could at least make lunch to show how kind they were for putting up with her, so she wouldn't have to live at the Main House. The phone rings before she could ask to make lunch, which causes a glutenous Shigure to go answer the phone, grumbling.

After a few minutes, Shigure comes back. His face is serious, which means he was talking to Akito. They continue to eat in silence. Shigure rubs his stomach, sighing, he says, "Tohru, you make the most delicious food ever! We picked the best maid!"

Kyo shoots up off the ground, "Stop avoiding it! What did Akito want?"

Shigure sighs and shakes his head. "He wants Haruhi to visit him."

"No," Kyo snarls, "She is staying here."

"Stupid cat, you know she has no choice. It will be much worse if she doesn't go." Yuki says.

Kyo shakes his head and opens his mouth to speak, but Shigure stops him before he could. "Yuki has a point. We can never say no to Akito. He will make an example of Haruhi if she doesn't go."

"You don't know he will do that. Maybe he will just…" Kyo trails off, knowing exactly the evil things Akito can make people do, he repeatedly rings his hand through his hair.

He's nervous.

The rest sees this, so Shigure decides to rip the rest of the metaphorical bandage off. "The whole reason Haruhi is back with us is because Akito wants to assort his power. With Tohru here, he feels like his control over us is slipping, so he needs every single zodiac under his nose. He is going to do this as soon and as harsh as he can. Everyone will have to bow or face his wrath. We will have to be careful for a while and do as he wants." Then under his breath Shigure whispers, 'It's not like we have a choice though, he is our God.'

Silence. No one looks at each other. They just stay where they are, thinking for several long moments.

"I'm going." Haruhi states as she rises to get ready.

Growling Kyo grabs her wrist. "Not without me you're not."

"I'm fine, I can take care of myself." Haruhi tugs out of his grip.

"That's my problem! Stop acting like it's all up to you! It's not! I don't know what it was like living with dad, but you're here now, so get over it! We're your family and we'll always be there to back you up!"

"Kyo…" Haruhi squeaks. She wants to tell him everything. She wants to tell him about the life that she lived so far. She wants to tell him she is free. Free. She was freed, but he wasn't. None of them are. She can't do that to them. That was rubbing it in his face. She couldn't tell him how great her life is either. She had everything a cursed zodiac dreamed of having. Telling them about it would be like mocking them. Of course, they would look happy, but deep down she knew they wouldn't be. But then again, he's her brother, they're all family, they have to know. It would be disrespectful to not share everything that has happened.

All that flies threw her mind. It shows on her face, but it must have come off wrong, because suddenly Kyo put a hand on her head. "Don't worry so much. I'll be there to protect you. What are big brothers for?" He goes up the stairs to get ready. Haruhi stays frozen but feels the world move around her. She hears Tohru sputter "B-brother" and race after Kyo. While Shigure hums his way to his bedroom, leaving Yuki to put the dishes in the sink.

Could it be that simple? Could she really rely on them? After all those years of relying on herself, the hosts opened her up, but not all the way. Not enough to rely fully on others. Which Haruhi supposes, none of them did really. That is humanity for you. She sighs and goes upstairs to get dressed. She'll make these decisions at another time.

ꬸ

They arrive at the Main House a quarter past noon. Haruhi looks up at the big wooden gates of the Main House and begins to get nervous. Sighing, she walks through the gates. It is just as she remembers. Houses like Shigure's dots the landscape with gardens and little streams surrounding the area. In truth she missed it here.

"Stop ya gawking and let's go already." Kyo grawls. She nods and follows him to Akito's house with Yuki, Tohru and Shigure trailing behind.

Once they get to the house, Shigure stops them, "Kyo, you know you can't go inside. Just being on the property without permission could get you thrown into your cell." Kyo gives him a look, prompting Shigure to reply, "Don't worry, we will protect her. Nothing too bad will happen to her."

"'Too bad'? What d'you mean by that?!"

"Oh nothing. She'll be perfectly alright." Shigure states waving one hand at Kyo with the other in his Kimono. Haruhi looks down at her kimono. She hates wearing them, but she needed to get on Akito's good side.

"Alright," Haruhi sighs, "Let's get this over with. As much as I want you with me, you have to stay outside Kyo. Shigure's right, you'll get locked up if you come any further. I'm sorry."

Kyo huffs but then sighs, "Yeah, yeah. Fine I'll stay outside. But you two need to protect her and Tohru!" Kyo points a finger at the two Sohma boys.

"We already said we would protect her, you stupid cat. It goes without saying for both Haruhi and Miss Handa. Now come on let's not keep Akito waiting." Yuki turns and walks into the house; the rest follows suit.

As they walk down the corridors the knot of tension in Haruhi's stomach grows. All the things Akito made her do come rushing back at her. She learned to suppress them with only her dreams, or in her case nightmares, bringing them back. But she is fully awake and remembering everything.

The nightmare flashes before her eyes now in pictures. Akito. Whip. Akito. Yuki. Akito. Haruhi. Akito. Whip. Akito hand pointing to Yuki. Yuki scared face. Whip. Haruhi on Yuki. Whip. Akito. Akito laughing. Akito grinning. Yuki crying. Haruhi crying. Blackness.

Someone's shaking her. She blinks and looks at Shigure and Tohru's faces. "Haruhi? Why did you stop? What is it?" Tohru asks.

Haruhi looks away but unfortunately her eyes land on Yuki. What she was thinking of probably showed on her face because he says, "It's alright Haruhi. It's all in the past now. It's alright."

He smiled at her, but Haruhi didn't believe that smile. She couldn't. What she did to him in the room they were heading to right now is unspeakable. Something she could not and will not forgive herself for doing. Yuki and her lives where connected not just by blood or a curse but more darker ways. He knew it too. But she couldn't say any of that out loud and not at a time like this, so she nodded, smiled and headed into Akito's room.

Akito's sprawled on the floor, hand over his eyes. The lights are off, so he isn't feeling too well. 'This isn't good' Haruhi thinks as she makes her way a little further in but leaving a wide berth of space between them and Akito for precaution.

They sit down and wait. After a few minutes, Akito sighs and drags himself up to a lazy slouch. Looking straight at Haruhi he says, "So, you finally arrived. Liking your new… accommodations?"

Once Haruhi nods, he continues, "Hm, too bad. Anyways, you're supposed to say thank you to me for being so kind to let you come back home." Haruhi bows her head and thanks him. His eyes roll over the two girls and Shigure, giving Tohru a disgusted scowl but stops at Yuki. Then his gaze goes back to Haruhi, who is sitting next to Yuki. "You two seem… friendly. Get up."

They hesitantly stand. "Come." He commands. They stare at the ground as they slowly step forward. "No," Akito growls, "come sit by me." They do as he instructs, Haruhi on the right and Yuki on the left.

He looks Haruhi over for a moment. 'Skinny, she's skinny and her hair looks like a boy. Is she making fun of me?' Akito thinks as he begins talking, "Now, Anri, you are to come here as often as you can, same to you." He gestures to Yuki. "Leave the cat and dog at home, they have fleas." He says this while staring at Tohru. "Also, you are going to Yuki and the rest's school. And Anri, don't use the name given to you by the person who stole you away from me. Oh, and do grow out your hair."

Haruhi stares at Akito agape. No, he couldn't take her away from her friends. But she knew he would, she expected it. Haruhi nods. She will become the little girl she was taught to be by Akito and her birthfather.

"Please! Please let, um, Anri stay in her school. She earned her place there! She studied hard and got into that prestigious school all on her own!" Tohru begs Akito.

Akito gives her a displeased look. "She could have gotten in there like everyone else in that school, through name and money. Yet she didn't. Why is that? Is she ashamed of how rich we are? Or is it she is ashamed of her name? Why would she be ashamed in both cases? Perhaps it is for a different reason? I couldn't possibly think of one." He gave a questioning look to Haruhi, expecting an answer she couldn't provide.

Not realizing what she is doing at first, Haruhi goes down onto her knees, head to the ground. "Let me stay at Ouran, I-" She's cut off and hung in the air by the neck.

Akito squeezes, choking her air off. "You do not tell me to do anything. But since the girl begged for you and made a point, not a great point but a point nonetheless, I will let you stay at your precious school. But you will have to tell them all your true name. They will know how rich you are. Your scholarship will be taken from you and you will be forced to use our money. People will treat you differently because you will now be above them in the social hierarchy."

Akito laughs menacingly, a deranged grin plastered on his face, "Your life is over if you stay at your precious school or go to theirs, it makes no difference to me. Your all mine either way." He threw her down.

"Your dismissed."


	4. Chapter 3- A Storm of Confessions!

Chapter 3- A Storm of Confessions!

As the small group of Sohma's pile into Hatori's car, Kyo couldn't help but question them on what happened. "So, what did Akito want from Haruhi?" He looked back and forth between all the distressed faces.

"Nothing we can't handle at a later time." Is all Shigure dons to answer.

That got Kyo mad. Why would the idiot dog not say what happened? He looks to the girls, but they are whispering something to each other. He has no choice but to turn to the rat.

"Spill, what happened?"

"Stupid cat, can't you tell this isn't the time or place to be talking about this. It's Akito, so considering all the stuff he does, let's just say we got out with all limbs attached. Isn't that a good thing?"

Kyo huffs while looking out the window to the sky, growing gray engulfs them. No wonder he's on edge. With his sister having to visit the most wretched person on earth and now rain, it couldn't be helped that he wants to pick a fight. But his energy is quickly evaporating with the oncoming storm.

As Hatori drives away, everyone displaces to wherever they need to be. With a sigh Kyo heads to his room. As he reaches the top of the stairs a clap of thunder shakes the house and rain starts pounding on the shingles.

Good thing we got home before it started. Kyo thinks as he makes a pitstop to the bathroom. Bright light envelopes the small bath, followed by more thunder. His ears perk up and he turns back to the hallway. Another noise is intertwined with the sound. It is small, but he swears he heard it. Going into the hallway he waits for another round to go off. When it does, he hears it again. A squeak. It's coming from Haruhi's bedroom. Kyo goes over and bangs on the door. He hears her squeal again.

"Haruhi, is everything okay?"

"Yes, I-It's perfectly alright. I'm fine."

Kyo grinds his teeth irately. It was obviously not alright. He could hear her fear in her voice. Another boom wracked the house as he threw open the door. Looking around he couldn't see Haruhi anywhere. He then saw a mound under the sheets of the bed against the wall. Going on his knees, he lifts the bedspread to find his sister curled up in a fetal position, tucked between the wall and pillows. She made a fortress for herself out of fear.

Haruhi stares at Kyo for a second with wide bloodshot eyes, but when the dark room illuminates with light, she quickly shuts them, preparing for the inevitable roar that follows. Jumping on the bed, Kyo slides in next to her and holds her in his arms.

She is shaking but not crying. Which is good, then why is she afraid of thunder? What happened when she was with Dad? Kyo thinks as he pulls the bedspread back over them to drown out the light and sound. He whispers to her comforts that fall on deaf ears.

The storm keeps raging. It seems like it will go on all night. Somewhere along the line Haruhi stops shaking but she still never let's go.

"Thank you." She whispers to him.

"Please. Please tell me what's wrong. Tell me what's happened to you since you left with Dad. Why did he send you back? Where is he now? Tell me what happened today with Akito too." He hated being this weak, especially when she needed him to be strong right now. But he couldn't help it, he also couldn't make himself stop. "And why are you afraid of thunder? Did Dad do something to you? Did Akito?" When he said Akito's name Haruhi shuddered.

"It's nothing I can't deal with on my own." She replies, "But-"

Kyo didn't let her finish. "Like I said earlier, you aren't alone. You don't have to do everything on your own. Why do you think you have to in the first place?"

"When I left, Dad didn't take me with him. He gave me to his colleague from work, never to be heard of again. Which is more than I deserved. They took care of me. They loved me and eventually became my new family. But right after I thought of them as my family, Kotoko, my new mother, died. I thought that this was fate telling me I didn't deserve to have a new family. That I was destined to destroy every relationship I had with someone. I cried the whole day of Mom's funeral and the following day I didn't eat. I think that was the first time I cried since we were a family.

After, I focused on my studies to become a lawyer. Ryoji, my new dad, decided to work as a professional crossdresser and entertainer at an Okama bar. Because of this, he was always out late and was barely home." She pulled back and sat up. Her hair fell over her face, masking what Kyo is sure is tears. "And now, I was pulled away from that life. Akito today said I could stay at my school, thanks to Tohru that is, she convinced him somehow. But I will no longer be Haruhi, I can never be her again. I will have to tell everyone at school who I am. That scares me to death. But I don't want to lose the friends I made because I am a Sohma."

Feeling her sadness like a sharp edge, Kyo grabs Haruhi, pulling her into the crook of his neck. "It'll be okay. I promise we'll set this right; you'll see your father again."

After a while Haruhi settles down. "Yeah. Yeah, your right." She looks him in the eyes, "and you? What happened to you when I left."

Kyo stares at the royal purple comforter, he starts to trace the flower imprint. "Nothing really. After Mom's funeral no one wanted to take me in. But, Kazuma did. He taught me martial arts and we even trained in the mountains for a while. Then I came back and started to live with Shigure and the rest. That's it."

Haruhi gives another sad smile. Kyo thinks back throughout the last couple days, he can't seem to remember her with a true smile on her face.

"So," Haruhi smirks, "what's up with you and Tohru?"


	5. Chapter 4- The Day Kyoya Finds Out!

Chapter 4- The Day Kyoya Finds Out!

You couldn't tell Kyoya is stressed, all you see is him writing in his black book like always. Except he wasn't writing anything, just moving his hand mindlessly, needing to do a task. His thoughts are on overdrive since last Friday, something is wrong with Haruhi, he can just tell. Why this bothers him, he does not know. They are all pawns. But he can't let a pawn break in the middle of the game, now can he?

The rest of the hosts don't grasp that something is wrong yet. Maybe because they don't know the Sohmas'? But in this world where the rich rule, how can they not know the richest family of all?

The hosts did, however, notice Kyoya acting odd. Of course, they did, they have been friends for too long to not notice. And they did know Haruhi was a little too sentimental Friday, but not why.

Honey came up to Kyoya, but the shadow king didn't notice until the little blonde boy moves to still the younger boys uselessly moving hands. Eyes meeting, they share their worries without speaking a word.

At this moment, music room three's doors fly open to reveal a girl in boys' clothes. All eyes fall to her.

"What?" She says as she stops a few feet in the room.

This sparks the hosts into action. Tamaki and the twins continue preparing for club which will happen in a few minutes. Honey turns and skips to his tall cousin who just came out of the dressing room. Hikaru pushes Haruhi to the dressing room next with a French outfit, that kind of looked like a mime without a white face.

Once everything is set up, they get into position to greet their guests. The doors open to reveal the already growing group of young ladies waiting to be wooed. Roses in each host's hands with their fragrance in the air, each young lady falls in love once again and again every day from which they arrived.

Everything in music room three is set up like little Paris. The identical redheads are doing their typical twincest routine by the little Eiffel Tower, the cousins are by the miniature Louvre, feeding each other cake. While Tamaki is obsessing over his 'daughter,' and showing off his heritage. Just the normal day for the host club.

Still, Kyoya can't get over the feeling he is missing something important. Sighing, he pushes his glasses up, slapping his black book shut. Time to make money. Going over to a girl he never seen here before, he bows politely.

"May I have a seat?"

"Please," the American brunette says.

"I haven't seen someone like you around, are you new?" Of course, he already knew the answer.

Adrienne Jacqueline Chance, her father died a few years ago. Her mother became a black widow, so to speak, and married dying single men. She did so in the pretense that she will take care of their orphaned children, but of course no one is ever that kind, especially to a stranger's kids. Anyway, that was none of his care, her new stepfather is a Japanese businessman, so she is now as rich as anyone at this school.

"Yes, well, my mother remarried and so my siblings and I came here to live." she said bitterly. This is what intrigued him the most about this client. Out of all her family, she appeared out of the blue five years ago. She has no birth certificate or record of any kind. She came into her family of three when she was ten, and three years later her father and a family friend died in a hit and run. Not long after that her mother started her career as a black widow. Her last husband died leaving three sons and a daughter, same M.O. as this girl, no information can be collected from before they married. This girl is interesting, very interesting.

"Well then, I hope you are liking it here."

"Hm, It's alright. A bit getting used to, but I can adapt easily enough. I'm used to it."

Kyoya smiles plastically but is still in tune with her underlying messages. "So, what your implying is that you have had a rough life by having to adapt to different people and places?"

"Who said it was rough? It's a very entertaining game."

Smiling almost for real now he continues fully intrigued. "Game? My dear lady, whatever do you mean? Are you implying that the people around you are just pawns and the places are different boards?"

"I never uttered anything of the sort. Do you see it that way Mr. Ootori? If so, you have a… special way of seeing things. Maybe you are speaking with experience perhaps?"

This provokes a short laugh from the Shadow King. They really see right through each other, almost like twin stars. "Whatever do you mean? I am just doing what is best for my father's business and this Host Club. I just want to make everyone happy."

"Everything comes with a price, even happiness. You know this. You might want your father and this club to succeed and maybe find happiness, but you Sir are the type of person that only does things through profit."

"You may be right, but I think you judged me too quickly."

"Hm, I'll see about that. Oh, look at the time. Well, I'll be off. Good day Mr. Ootori. I will see you around."

"Same to you then." Kyoya says with a plastered smile as he escorts the lady out.

"Oh, I have a feeling that something bad will happen to this club and others. That girl you have dressed up as a host. She will be the cause. It'll be best if you keep an eye on her. My feelings tend to come true." Turning back around she leaves. Feeling an ominous air to what she said, he goes to check on how everything is doing, he can't help but think that that girl is going to be trouble.

ꬸ

After club, the hosts just finished cleaning up. Kyoya had ordered men to come in and take away the French decor. Once that is underway, he changed out of his mime clothes. Stupid Tamaki, why did he choose mimes?

As he walks to the front of the room, he sees Haruhi grabbing her bag to leave. Her phone rings, "Hello Hatori. Yeah, I'm done. Alright I'll be out in a moment."

That name again.

Before she walks out the door, he calls out to her, "Haruhi,"

"Yeah?" she stops walking to face her Senpai.

"I've noticed that your spending more time with that Sohma. I wonder what you need with a prestigious doctor like that. Is everything alright?"

Haruhi nods, turning to the doors, "Nothing is wrong. You know that, you make it your business to know everything about everyone that could potentially give you some gain. But please, just for this time, don't look into it. I don't want to see anyone I cherish get hurt. I'm alright, really, you don't need to worry about me." She forces a strained smile, like the hosts been seeing more and more lately, "I got to go. See you later." She stops and says without turning back, "Oh yeah, call me Anri from now on."

She walks out of the room, Kyoya follows to leave himself. Down corridors and flights of stairs they go to the front of the school. Before they exit something cliques in his mind. Everything starts fitting together. But it's only hypothetical, he decides to ask one more question.

"Why do you need a ride home?"

"What?" She turns to him perplexed.

"Why do you need a ride home when you are of walking distance. If that Sohma isn't giving you medical advice, why is he picking you up? The only logical reasoning I can think of is you don't live close to the school anymore. The name change is one of the things that proves it. Anri Sohma. I heard of the name before. There was a child of the Sohma's who went missing around thirteen years ago. It was quickly rebuked, and the topic was dropped from all eyes and ears. Not very many people know or remember the incident. My men had to dig deep to find it. For some reason the Sohma's keep a tight lid on their family history."

Haruhi's eyes are wide as saucers. Bingo, Kyoya of course was right. "Now tell me the truth Haruhi, what is going on?"

6/3/18 AN: Yay! An omake and a new chapter in the same day! I feel accomplished with this! I also updated Forbidden kiss so go read it! Thanks guys for the favs and follows! Please R&R! Thanks again!

7/5/19: Changed the Omake until after chp 6.


	6. Chapter 5- Mysteriously Unbelievable!

Chapter 5- Mysteriously Unbelievable!

Eyes wide, Haruhi stares at Kyoya. This unbelievable man; this man who always feels it his business to dig into other people's lives, this man that she had the most respect for all the Hosts, this man who she was the closest to, that she considered her best friend, knows one of her deepest darkest secrets.

That scares her to death.

What other secrets does he know? Does he know about the curse? How did he find out? It was in the newspapers, but only for half a day before it was recalled. No one knew or remembered it, and if they did why would they connect it to her?

Thoughts clogged her brain, making her feel dumb and useless. Fear sang through her blood, through her soul. He can't find out any more secrets than her family name. She had to make sure of it. She needs to find out what else he knows. And if it is truly just her 'kidnapping' he knows about, she needs to not let on that she has any darker truths.

Taking a deep breath, she forces herself to look directly into his eyes. Questioning yet understanding brown-gray eyes stare back, almost making her run away. Instead she stands taller, trying to show as much bravery as possible. "Yes, your right, my name is Anri Sohma. My birth father gave me to dad when I was young. He didn't tell anyone in the family before running away. My birth family looked for me but didn't want it made public. They recently took me back. That's it really."

"So?"

"So?" I ask perplexed and slightly angry that that was all he had to say.

"So, what are you going to do?" What about Ryoji? Is what you two have between you going to disappear now? And will you go back? Did you want to go back? How long are you going to stay with these strangers? Are you really that weak? And ten thousand more questions flicker in his eyes but remain on his tongue.

"Ex-excuse me?" She stammers, confused, "What do you mean what am I going to do? There is nothing for me to do."

Kyoya cocks his head at this statement. He doesn't say anything though, just stares with beady eyes. After a few heartbeats, he backs up, pushing his glasses back, "Alright, I will keep your secret."

Drawing an eyebrow up, Haruhi knows him enough to not be fooled. "What do you want? What's in it for you?"

"Oh Haruhi, I don't always need a reason to do something. I just want to help."

Like hell he does. But then again, she has nothing to give him, so he has nothing to gain. "Fine, the day after the Ball I have an appointment to talk to the Chairman about changing my name on the school roster. Please tell the club before then about my name change only. If they ask why I am a Sohma all of a sudden, tell them…"

What? What is a good explanation of why she is not a Fujioka anymore? Seeing the struggle in her eyes, Kyoya leaps in, "Tell them to give you time and that you will explain everything when you are able. Which of course, you will," He gives her a pointed look, "but for now treat you like we have always done. Nothing changes except your name."

"Maybe I shouldn't tell them, what with the ball and everything, they won't have their heads on straight. But they would be hurt if they found out with the rest of the school. Then again-"

"Haruhi," Kyoya cuts her off, giving her another pointed look, "I will take care of it, don't worry."

She analyzes him for a second, "Are you being nice because I am a Sohma and so my merit and lineage in your eyes just went up?"

"Of course that is a reason, what you say is true," He condones, "But that isn't why I am doing this. The club comes first and with it the members. I can't have what I've worked for the past three years to go down the drain because a commoner couldn't keep that she's rich a secret now, can I?"

Haruhi gives him a thankful smile, she might have to pay him somehow later but for now she is glad she has the brains of this little family of theirs on her side. "Right, anyways, I really have to get home. My turn to cook for everyone. See you tomorrow."

As Kyoya watches her leave he can't help but wonder who the 'everyone' is that she is cooking for. The Sohmas are a large family after all. Who exactly is she living with and where?

There is the Estate but there are a few Sohmas who strayed away from their flock.

Walking to his limo, the previous conversation replaying in his head, his gut instinct starts to act up again. There was something that girl isn't telling him. Something crucial. He has a feeling he needs to find what it is before it gets out of hand.

ꬸ

The next day Haruhi wakes up to voices downstairs. Her door bangs open revealing a small blonde-haired boy who giddily jumps up and down. Getting out of bed, she can hear Kyo yelling at someone, probably Yuki again.

"Anri-Chan!" Momiji cries out as he tackles the slightly taller girl.

"Momiji! It's been a long time!" She greets back. Humming his confirmation, Momiji pulls her downstairs.

As they head toward the stairs, a black-haired girl comes out of the restroom, nearly scaring Haruhi to death. A long black dress matches her flowing locks, making her look like a beautiful mourner.

"Uh, hello…who are you?" She asks cautiously.

"Your chakras are stiff," the girl cocks her head to the side, "yes, your bothered by something. Something important, but you feel like you can't tell anyone. This is putting strain on your psyche."

"Ah, yeah. So, who are you?"

Before the girl could answer, a female voice Haruhi didn't recognize called up to her. "Yo, Hana-Chan, get down here! We're going shopping, and red-head is carrying!"

Right after Haruhi hears this, she hears her brother complaining to the girl and calling her a yankee. Looking quizzically back to this black cloaked girl in front of her, the girl nods at her, "I must wish you ado, I do hope you are able to restore your chakra balance."

She swishes passed her and glides down the stairs. Looking over at Momiji who was waiting for her, she gives him a quizzical look in which he smiles back and explains who these two strangers are as they make their way to the dining room. Haruhi decides to stop in the kitchen first to talk to Tohru.

Once there she sees the small girl finishing making breakfast. "Do you need some help?"

"No that's alright."

"Are you sure I can take those to the others." Haruhi indicates the finished plates.

After a brief hesitation she agrees to the help. "Ohm, Anri-kun, do you want to go shopping too? Yuki, Kyo and Shigure are coming and my two friends, Hana-Chan and Uo-chan."

"Does your friends know about our curse?" Haruhi questions.

With wide eyes, she emphatically shakes her head. "No, no! They don't. I promise."

That seems dangerous, but who was she to judge, shrugging she agrees, and they head to the dining room together.

A/n: Sorry guys, I had to ace one more class to get my Associates Degree, so I couldn't write. But my brain still wanted me too, so I was able to cook this up. It's not much but it's something. My class ends Tuesday and in two weeks I am going to a new school, so I can't promise September having an update, but I will try.

I was also dealing with Shingles (without knowing for a month) and it got into my eye. It went away but it's blurry and I can't read. So that is also stopping me from using technology for long periods of time until the swelling goes down and the docs can reexamine it to find out if I can get my sight back or not. Anyways I hope you like the chapter. Next, I'm going to scrunch up time a bit and have Haruhi balance spending time with the Sohmas and Host Club at the mall (If you don't remember the episode it was Kyoya's reluctant day out!). Until Next Time!

8/5/18


	7. Chapter 6- Haruhi's Reluctant Day Out!

Chapter 6- Haruhi's Reluctant Day Out! (A/n: Long Chapter sorry!)

What Haruhi didn't take into account of when she said she'd tag along to the store, would be that Hatori, Momiji and Haru would also tag along. The second thing she didn't take into account is where they were going shopping.

As people passed her in the Azumi Shopping Center, she considers backing out but remembered that the products expo was going on today. Except she didn't really like crowds and this Saturday seems more busy than normal for late November.

Bounding up to her, Momiji tugged on her arm. "Let's go to the music shop!"

That's right, he plays the violin. After giving her consent with a nod, Momiji spent no time pulling her into the store. Rows of different musical instruments along with parts clustered the walls and shelves and any free space in the small room. Looking behind her, she sees Haru looking at a cello.

"I didn't know you were interested in instruments, Haru."

"I'm not."

Yet he keeps staring at the cello like a cat stalking its prey.

"Alright, just don't do anything rash." She doubts he'll listen but says it anyways.

Walking over to Momiji, she looks at the violin he's holding. A Knilling violin. She gawks at it in shock that it would be sold here. They are well known among violin teachers and students. In addition to its high-quality craftsmanship, the company's student violins have unique pegs for optimal tuning. Or so she heard from her guests at club.

"Wow."

"Yeah. Beautiful isn't it?" He brushes his hand over it, just lightly enough as if it would shatter at his touch. "What I would give to play it."

"Why don't you try it out?" The old bearded Chinese man behind the counter said.

Looking forlornly at the instrument, he slowly shakes his head. Backing up, but keeping his eyes on the piece for a couple seconds more, he flees the store.

"Wait!" Haruhi makes a move to run for him when a crash echoes through the store.

"What the hell are you looking at? You don't play me, I play you, you got me?"

Haruhi glances at the door before going over to Black Haru. "What's going on?"

Haru turns on her, broken cello pieces littering the ground, "This piece of shit thinks I'm no good for it, that I can't play it. It cut me, so I cut it!" He proceeds to stomp on the cello.

She clicks her tongue at him, "I told you not to do anything rash."

"Well what was I supposed to do? I tried to play it and the strings cut me!"

"You don't crush it. You mend your fingure and go on with your life."

"That's too weak, are you suggesting I'm weak?"

Shaking her head she decides this conversation isn't going anywhere and she needed to find Momiji. What the hell happened to him anyway?

Turning to the shocked and frustrated cashier she tosses down a credit card-Shigure's credit card- but he won't miss it until later, and yanks Black Haru out the door.

Looking around she can't find Momiji in this crowded place. "Haru," turning to see a still pissed off boy she calls out his name again to get his attention back on her. "Momiji is missing, do you see him anywhere?" This snaps him out of it and after glancing around a second, he shakes his head.

"Don't worry, he probably saw something and ran over to look. He's fine."

Haruhi wasn't that sure, "He seemed upset, he saw the violin he's always wanted and when the man behind the counter offered to let him play he ran away."

This caused a look of hesitation and worry cross zodiac cow's face.

"What? What is it?"

"Um, nothing. But maybe you're right. Ever since he quit playing he's never really been the same around other instruments."

That was news to her. Why did he quit? But now wasn't the time.

"Let's split up. You have my number if you find him."

ꬸ

Half an hour later and still no sign of any Sohmas, let alone a small blonde haired one, she decides to call it quits for now and take a break. Looking over her shoulder, she sees a man in jeans, a tan shirt, brown flip-flops and a golden necklace. He's staring at the map on the wall. He looks familiar. A laughing child who was running around him for a while now accidentally bumps into him, prompting a quick apology from the kid. The man turns toward him, glasses flickering in the light to glare at the child. The boy shouts to his mom as he runs away.

The glinting glasses gives away who the man is. "Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi hears her own voice carry above the bustle of people as she walks closer. "I didn't expect to see you here today."

After a second of silence and a thoughtful look on his face, Kyoya says, "How much money do you have on you Haruhi?"

"What?" Why can't he pay? Considering she just left her card in a music store, she has only a bit of cash on her.

A little while later, Kyoya stares at the menu of McDonalds, Haruhi can't help but stare at him, not believing he would be willing to step inside here, let alone eat here.

"Kyoya-senpai, are you sure this is where you want to eat? There are much nicer restaurants to choose from upstairs."

"Well, you don't have much on you, so our choices are limited. Just be sure to get a receipt, Tamaki will reimburse you tenfold." He says with a scary face. "Though I am surprised your family didn't give you a black card yet."

"Um, I got my cousin's card for today, but I just left it in the music store and I am not willing to go back there and see the damage anytime soon." This answer obviously invokes a questioning glare towards the girl to which she just shakes her head.

"Well that's your own fault for leaving it at a store. Although since you are paying for me today, I will be gracious and go with you to get it after this."

How did this happen? She only stayed for a peek at the product expo, why did she have to run into Kyoya-senpai and why did he have to be in such a foul mood? On top of that, Momiji is still missing and she hasn't seen one Sohma in more than an hour now.

Well, that's actually a good thing with Kyoya-senpai here. But that's beside the point. And why is he here anyways? And without cash or a phone? If she had to bet the Host Club was involved. She didn't care if Kyoya saw her family, but the others are a different story. Well, on second thought, her family would flood her with questions, so it was probably safer to keep them separate for now.

"Haruhi, I think it's our turn. How do I order?"

"Oh, here, why don't I order for both of us? Do you know what you want?"

"You pick. Just get us a lot of it."

Grouchy pants. Fine then, she did as she was told and ordered a lot of food.

When the starry-eyed girl asked Kyoya in particular if he wanted deserts, he politely brushes her off with a kind refusal. Then the girl made the mistake of asking him again. With a glare at the young lady he says, "I have given you my answer." and walks away.

Making sure she got a receipt from the nearly in tears girl, Haruhi goes to sit next to him.

Hearing yelling she looks out the shop to the hallway to see the blonde girl, Uo-chan, and her brother fighting about something. They seemed to be alone. Hurrying to her seat she tries not to be noticed by them.

Bringing herself back to her senpai she says what's on her mind, "Kyoya-senpai, just because you're in a bad mood doesn't mean it gives you the right to talk to people like that. The poor girl was just doing her job."

"Her job is to serve us food, not irritate us with some weak sales pitch."

Haruhi stares at him while he eats his burger, this of course annoys him more.

"Now what?"

"I just don't think I've seen you eat before." She explains her actions to him. "somehow I thought the experience would be more refined. I'm surprised food like this even appeals to you."

"It doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. No doubt you say I'm callous for admitting it since you bought this tripe."

"Of course I won't." She will think it though, but that got her wondering why any other Sohma's weren't Chefs or something. She pictured Momiji cooking and thought it was cute. Then she pictured Haru in a smock and a frying pan in his hand. Then just the smock. Then only… Kyoya's next sentence brought her back.

"There's an understanding between makers of food like this and those that eat it. Quality takes a backseat to convenience. Refinement isn't part of the equation. It's meant to be eaten quickly, besides no one of consequences is here to see my momentary lapse of manners."

Thinking that he must be taking a break from the nice-guy act today, he shocks her by saying, "Hey, for the record, I'm saying it benefits me nothing to keep up appearances in a place like this and that includes any special treatments I may give you here."

At that moment, three love-struck girls come up and ask for a chair, which Kyoya replies dully that it's fine. Never seeing this side of him before, she starts to wonder how his indifferent attitude compliments Tamaki's.

Again, reading her mind, Kyoya immediately points out, "The answer is simple, I have something to gain. There is no bigger motive than self-interest. I have to look out for number one, you know."

"Tamaki-senpai would be heartbroken if he heard you say that."

"On the contrary, he's understood our arrangement from the very beginning. The same goes for all of them; Hikaru, Kaoru, Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai. The glue that holds the host club together is our egocentricity. It's the principle that drives the alliance between our families and ensures each of our futures. Though, let's just say there is quite a bit you still don't understand about that. Although Tamaki is a fool, and self-sacrifice does come naturally to him. So, I guess the point of this is, we are very different creatures."

Haruhi never thought about it like that. Even though he did get one thing wrong. She knew all too well what it's like to have to be the staple of the family.

"No, I understand. Since I was born, I was one of the two favorites of the family. That meant I had to learn from a young age how to please others. I had to be the one to stop family squabbles and I had to be the perfect daughter. The always happy and helpful daughter. They considered my brother to be a disgrace, so I was the one to hold up the family name."

She shakes her head. "Anyways I left that household when I was still pretty young, so I don't understand many of your rich-guy thinking, but something like this… I understand more than you think."

Tilting his head, Kyoya let out a little hum, "I guess you do. I still see you as a commoner since that's how I've known you for so long, so I forget you used to be like us."

Haruhi snorts, "Not really, it's kind of funny. It's true the Sohma's are one of the richest families in the world, but no one acts like it. We go to convenience stores to get our food. We go to public schools or small private schools. We do everything like any other person in the world. We just try to be as happy as we can for the short time we're here."

This fact surprises the Shadow King and he wants to ask more but sensing her reluctance to continue this topic and wanting it to end, he gets up to leave. She puts away the trash before asking, "Shall we continue then?"

They walk around for a good amount of time looking at vendor items, like a set of earrings that Kyoya was very curious to see at a place like this, and calling himself 'A product of excellent breeding," before Haruhi finally asks the question that's been on her mind since he called himself that, maybe ever since they were talking about her family back at McDonalds.

"So, Kyoya-senpai, why is it that after all this time, I still know next to nothing about your family?"

"Because there really isn't anything that you need to know about my family, at least nothing that should be of interest to you."

"Well that seems to be a little bit unfair, don't you think?"

He stops walking and faces her, "Just what do you mean unfair?"

"I mean that when it comes to my personal life, you even keep tabs on who my father's friends from work are, while I barely have a clue about yours, so I call that unfair."

"That's a very intriguing notion in its own way." He cocks his head to the side, "I do know everything about your Fujioka family but nothing about your Sohma family, is that still unfair?"

That stumps her for a moment. "Yes, I believe it is. I know my case is a little different because I have two families when most people have one. I was 'kidnapped' so I don't even know anything about my birth family to even tell you. My dad is the only family I know, and you know everything about him, so why can't I know something about yours? It doesn't have to be big just something small should do." She thinks for a second, "You've got two older brothers, right? For starters, you can tell me something about them. What kind of people are they?"

Turning back around, in a wispy voice Kyoya says, "They are rather exceptional. Enough so that my father puts a lot of stock in them. Though as the third son, things work out a little differently for me."

"I didn't know there was so much pressure on you to succeed."

Turning back around and giving a kind smile, he says gently, "Pressure? Oh, no Haruhi, I can't think of nothing more fun than this."

Giving up on learning more about him for now, and mulling over what he said, they share a momentary bond of silence.

"Dear me, pieces from the Komatsu showing collection? I never thought I would find them here!" The pair looks over passed red flags to see a woman in a kimono looking at ceramic bowls.

As the dealer tries to entice her to buy one, Kyoya walks up to her.

"With all due respect," His princely attitude returns, "These are fake."

As the seller cries out and tries to shoo him away, he continues, "The shade of blue is strongly reminiscent of Showings work. But looking closely around the base you'll notice that the color graduation isn't quite dark enough to be authentic. That and the lacquer is too clear."

Looking at the bottom of the bowl he sees something amiss, "Just as I thought, the brush strokes on this seal is uncharacteristically broad as well, for your sake I hope you have a certificate. That is if you still insist it's real."

"Of course it's real! I have the certificate at home…"

"Ah, then surely you don't mind if I call the Komatsu family right now to verify your claim. My own family has had dealings with them for generations. It will only be a matter of minutes."

With that the security took the vender away and the woman thanked him profusely.

"After everything you told me senpai, stepping in on a stranger's behalf seems a little out of character for you."

"Oh that? Well she's hardly a stranger. You mean you don't know? Her husband is a CEO of a major electronics company. This is my first time to meet her personally, but that ring on her left hand is unmistakable. My father has dealings with her husband's company."

After talking to the guards, the woman walks back up to Kyoya and praises him, he of course puts up his airs for her.

Watching this, Haruhi has a revelation. With the flag blocking their sight, he wouldn't have seen the women's ring. Shaking her head, she decides to keep this information to herself for now.

As they keep shopping, they come across some melon snacks made of corn, when Kyoya states it seems counterintuitive Haruhi laughs and says, "That's an intriguing notion in its own way. Earlier you were going on and on about how you and Tamaki-senpai are nothing alike, what you said about the candy, it sounds exactly like him!"

With that exclamation, Kyoya decides to buy them for the club, with Haruhi's money of course.

As they are taking a break Haruhi breaks the silence with a question, "Hey Senpai? Why do you think Tamaki-Senpai is so eager to help people when they're in need?"

"You mean when there isn't nothing to be gained by it? Who knows?"

"So, when you help someone, how exactly do you benefit from it? Money or reputation? Or is it more abstract? Because the way I see it, Tamaki-Senpai gets something from helping others that doesn't necessarily involve them paying him back. So maybe when you get right down to it, the two of you really aren't that different."

Before Kyoya could voice his opinion of the subject they hear a lady over the speakers, "Attention shoppers, this is an announcement for a lost child. A little boy named Kyoya Ootori is lost inside the store. His guardian Suoh is waiting for him on the second-floor information counter. Kyoya is five foot eleven inches tall with black hair and wearing prescription glasses."

People all over start to point and make comments, making another scary face, Kyoya yells, "That damn idiot, I'll kill him!"

Walking up to the information counter, the Hosts are overjoyed to see Kyoya and a little less so to see Haruhi from Tamaki since he wanted to go all stealthy and visit this 'commoners' market on their own. Honey and the twins bound up to Haruhi to try to get her to play with them around the shopping center for a while. Shaking her head, she admits she's exhausted and just wants to go home.

As they watch Tamaki play with his new dog, Kyoya asks Haruhi how he is like this moron, to which she replies, "I know you want me to believe your only reasons for helping that woman earlier was selfish ones, but that isn't actually the truth. Because from where we were standing there's no way you could of seen her ring, there was a flag blocking our view. It just doesn't make sense. You go to all that trouble acting like you're a big jerk when being a nice guy comes so naturally to you. It seems counterintuitive." She smiles at him before heading out.

He watches her leave as he says, "That's a very intriguing notion in its own way."

Before she walks too far though she remembers they are still missing Momiji. As Haruhi pulls out her phone to call Haru to see if they found him yet, she notices that her phone is dead. That's why no one called her to see where she was or if they found Momiji or not.

Sighing she turns back and walks into the information counter again. Looking around she doesn't find any of the Hosts there. Walking up to the counter she asked if the lady could report a missing child. When the announcement was over, she realized it would have been simpler to ask for a phone, oh well, this works too. After a few minutes the Sohmas and three girls come bounding in.

"There you are Anri-chan! We were looking all over for you!" Momiji bounces up and down on his heels. "Guess what I bought! These melon snacks sure do look delicious, don't you think?" Seeing the exact same snacks Kyoya just bought the club in his hand she burst out laughing.

"We also saw this play on the roof called Host Rangers! And we also went to the pet store!" Tohru happily said.

Haruhi looks at her brother, knowing he and the blonde wasn't with the group, "What did you do?" She said innocently.

"We uh, got a little lost for a bit, but we eventually found Momiji and the others." He said indicating Uo-chan. "It was her fault anyways, the yankee just couldn't shut her trap long enough to pay attention to the group." So that meant they were fighting about something and got separated. With a sigh she suggest they head home, which everyone agrees to.

ꬸ

As the Hosts walked away out of the building; with Tamaki playing with his new dog but also complaining that Kyoya ruined the mission because he let Haruhi join them, Kyoya heard the same lady make another lost child announcement. This time for a small blonde boy. But that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the child's name. Momiji Sohma. Hm so she wasn't alone today after all, he kind of felt a little tiniest bit sorry for taking her away from her family for the day. But after a moment he got over it.

"Hey," Hikaru asks the group, "Did the speaker lady just say Sohma?"

"Yeah," Kaoru agrees, "Isn't that that one important families name?"

"I wonder what they are doing here?" Honey says.

"Yep, they are pretty secretive, only a few show their faces, the rest hide out on their family's estate. We only know one that our Mother worked with, even then it was conference calls, no face to face contact, not even facetime." Hikaru put in.

Remembering what Haruhi said in McDonalds about her family doing ordinary stuff like shopping in regular stores, Kyoya wasn't all that shocked to hear that they were here. But what he is interested in is what Hikaru said about being in contact with one. Maybe if he can get their contact information and dig deeper into the name Momiji Sohma, he could help Haruhi out more. For some reason he really hoped he could.

A/N: 8/22/18

Hey Hey! So posting this a bit early than usual because my life will be hectic the next couple of weeks with school starting on the 28th. And it was easy to write once I got the episode written down. I did this chapter because I thought that episode told a lot about Kyoya and I wanted to do her perspective of that day, adding some Sohmas as well. The other episode I considered doing but didn't because that part was too short was where they went to the beach and Haruhi almost got attacked by guys. I thought that scene with Haruhi and Kyoya afterwards told a lot about him. Also, I just wanted to ask, in your opinion who do you want the ships in here to be? Do you want Haruhi to end up with Tamiki? Kyoya? Someone from Fruits Basket? I was originally thinking Haru, but to me it seems like Kyoya would be the best bet because I'm having a hard time writing Tamiki (I think he's perfect for the canon though), and it just seems like how the story is going to end up since I only am writing in three people's perceptions and the other is her brother and what other ships do you want to see? I'm already doing Tohru X Kyo. Anyways after over 3,600 words I will be off to write some other of my stories before Tuesday. Bye!

P.S. this is where I took that violin paragraph from, I don't know anything about violins.

/blog/violin-brands-beginner-students-z08

Edit: 7/5/19: I am sorry for any inconsistency in this fic. For example, even though this chapter is supposed to be in summer, for plot purpose I have this whole fic in November and December (so far). So pretend the weather is like Texas and is hot one morning and by evening its freezing lol. Also for plot purposes and I don't want to deal with them in school much, I mainly have these chapters by weekends. I am using a calendar for this years Nov/Dec and plotting based on that. If they're are inconsistencies that doesn't go at all please let me know, I am always open to criticism on my writing since I am not the best at it (grammar and plot holes alike). I also moved the Omake to after this chapter and added some details to each chapter but hopefully nothing too drastic that you'll notice. Thx again!


	8. Omake

Omake

Walking into the dining room this cold Friday afternoon, Shigure stops at the door to talk to the Sohma kids who were in the middle of a conversation.

"-So only you and Shigure will be home tomorrow." Yuki is explaining to Haruhi.

"Actually, my school is throwing a Ball, so I have to help with that."

"Really?" Yuki says, "Sounds… elegant."

Haruhi laughs, "Yeah, definitely not my type of event. But my club is putting it on to earn money and get the parents on their side, which is basically just to learn how to manage a business and to defeat boredom. Mainly the latter."

"What's this about?" Shigure inquires.

"Ah, Yuki, Tohru and I are going to go do a stupid race at school tomorrow. Haruhi is going to her school to prepare for a Ball her club's throwing. Makes sense, that does seem like something rich girls would do for fun." Kyo sounds unimpressed as he waits for his food.

Haruhi laughs nervously, but no one notices. They are thinking she's in a club with all girls considering she never added the word Host to the clubs name and she plans to keep it that way.

"I am going to beat you in the race you damn rat!"

"As if."

The other two Sohmas ignores the bantering teens, "So what about this ball? Are we invited to it?"

"My club puts this on every year in December, but it takes a whole month to prepare. I would invite you all, but I don't want to attract attention right now with Akito and all. I still haven't told them yet and I should before I start visiting with him next week. I mean he let me be for the last two weeks but with the Ball coming up in two and a half weeks, I at least want to get through that before I have to tell them. I have a feeling this will change a lot of things."

"Don't worry~ tell them when you're ready, we'll keep it a secret for now, just don't wait long. If they are true friends, they will stay by your side. Well anyway, I have to go see Mitchan today. I'll be back by dinner; I assume you all are staying in?"

The Sohma kids nod but they can't help thinking how odd his statement is since Mitchan usually comes to the house instead of Shigure going to her. Sharing a suspicious glance, the boy Sohma's start to question him but to Shigure's luck Haruhi steps in. "Mitchan? Who's that? Your girlfriend?"

"No, the devil." Shigure replies irritated. "Otherwise known as my editor. She said she will kill herself if I don't get the book done. Now it's done, and she said she's too sick to pick it up and that I must drop it off for her like she's a princess or something. So, Hatori is going to drop me off then we'll go visit Ayame at his shop."

"Sounds like a fun day. Have a good time!" Tohru says as she puts breakfast on the table. The boys who were still not buying it, but not really caring at this point, turn their attention to the food. As Kyo is reaching for some bacon, he knocks his juice onto his plate. Cursing he goes to wipe it up before it runs to the rest of the table and ground. Tohru immediately ran over to help like how a good wife should act. Shigure chuckles at the thought of those two married. He can see it, but then again, they do seem completely opposite of each other. Before they notice, and before he lets himself feel jealous of the two teens, he sneaks out.

He can still hear Yuki and Kyo fighting inside when Hatori pulls up. They nod at each other but remain silent for a couple of minutes. "Why are you doing this? It's not like it will solve anything. You know Akito, he will never change his mind."

Looking out the window Shigure lets out a troubled sigh, "But if I don't do this that girl will never get her life back. You, Ayame, Kureno and I are the only ones who know his secret. That can have leverage and you know we need all the help we can get to bring Haruhi back home to her father. I just worry about what he will do. I don't want him hurting her anymore, but this seems the only way to set things right."

"Your right but I still don't like it. Exposing everything just for one person. This isn't a game you want to be playing with Akito. He will win no matter what. He will make her bend to his will by putting not just her life on the line but everyone else's. He will make everyone miserable to get his way. Yes, she's family and we should do everything we can to help family, but she's safer how it is. Living at your house with the other kids is way better than living on the estate. And at least she can stay at her school, doing this might break the only hope of a connection to her former life she has."

But Akito wasn't the only one with a secret, and as far as Hatori knew, he was the only one who knows about Haruhi's secret. If it got out anymore it might get back to Akito and who knows what he'll do to her.

So far there is only two members who has escaped the curse. How did they do it? What do they have in common? Did they have anything in common? Hatori didn't know but his scientific personality is starting to show through. He needed to know the answer. He wasn't going to get them if Shigure angered Akito. But what could he do to help without sharing what he knows? Anyways, he promised himself he would stay out of it in order to remain safe and to keep his family safe. But if this family is willing to throw it all away, what will he do?

ꬸ

Stepping into Akito's room Shigure sits on the ground. Akito doesn't move from hanging out of his frigid window, only pretends he is still alone. This of course is another game for Akito, seeing who breaks first. Minutes tick by.

"What do you want?"

Looking down to hide his grin, Shigure knows not to immediately ask his question. "Are you feeling better today?"

"Like you care. Where is Yuki and Anri? I thought I told them to visit me. I'm growing impatient waiting on them."

"It's only been a week and a half, she needed that time to settle down, I'll have them visit you Monday. Besides, they're all going to be exhausted with their busy weekend. The boys and Tohru have a race to get ready for and Haruhi is getting ready for a Ball."

Shit. Right then he knew he made a mistake. Akito pulls himself up and turns to glare at Shigure.

"Hm. A Ball? Really?" without waiting for a reply he carries on, "I see. How high class. Hm. Yes, I have heard of this Ball. The school's Host Club throws a Ball every year. But tell me, why is my Anri going to prepare for this Ball with this Host Club? She is a girl, she cannot make contact with anyone of the opposite gender, unless she wants to have everyone's memory erased. And if that happens, why bother going to this precious school of hers in the first place?

"Maybe she's just a guest, but again, the risk is too high and why would she be helping set up? This is pissing me off. Make sure she tells the school her real name Monday. Also, have her quit her club. I don't want her spending time with boys, she's mine and mine alone. Bring them by after school."

Nodding, Shigure contemplates asking his own question. But seeing how mad Akito is right now, it might be even more disastrous than when he's calm. But he has to try.

"Say, Lord Akito. May I say something."

Giving a curious glare, but guessing what he will say, Akito inclines his head to proceed.

"I'm going to ask you this forthright. What do you plan to do with Haruhi? Why play this game? Why are you trying to ruin her life? It wasn't her fault she was given away, you let her stay with her adopted father until now. So, what changed?"

Akito stares at Shigure. Seconds tick by. Again, another game. Like the other he refuses to back down. Out of nowhere Akito bursts into hysterical laughter. He falls to the ground, tears rolling down his cheeks, he finds it hard to catch his breath.

And just as abruptly he stops. He's sprawled on the floor, staring at the ground, hair covering his head like a sick doll from the ring. Jerking his head up he looks deeply into Shigure's eyes making his skin crawl. He involuntarily jerks his gaze to the floor; this is a mistake.

Backing up slowly towards the door, he locks eyes with Akito again but sees the boy clutching his head, looking down with a grotesque grin on his face. He backs up another step. Akito begins to chant, "She's Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine…"

Almost there, three more steps. One, two, three. Running the best he can in his Kimono, he sprints towards the front door. But footsteps and whispered chants follow him. Grabbing on to the door handle he slams it open, running past house after house, he sees Hatori's car just beyond the estate gates. Hatori sees him coming and throws open the door. Jumping in and slamming the door closed again they split, creating skid marks they were going so fast.

"I take it went well?"

Laughing at this rare joke, Shigure looks over at his longtime friend. "Peachy."

They head off to Ayame's shop like he told the kids he would do before going home for a few hours. As they pull into his house's driveway, he sees Mitchan's car. Great, he thinks as he says goodbye and goes inside. I forgot to give her the book. He stops in the doorway. Then it dawns on him, he forgot the lie he told. Rounding the corner, Yuki and Mitchan smiles at him before Yuki says,

"Welcome back, how was your day with Michan and Ayame?"

6/3/18


	9. Chapter 7- Secrets!

Chapter 7- Secrets!

It's been a week and Kyoya has yet to find any more information on the Sohma's than what he had already discovered. He tried to look for any information on a Momiji Sohma, but the only thing he found was a transfer request for some brat from a boys' school to a rundown public school with a cousin who got into fights. That couldn't be him, even if the family liked to go low-class for all their needs, surely they wouldn't stoop so low when it came to education, they are still elites in Japan's society-they would still have some sense of class.

Closing his laptop, he headed to the kitchen to eat. It was already past midnight, so his family should either be asleep or working all night on some project or another. He knew he should be doing the same with his schoolwork since finals will be after the Ball, but since this concerned his club, he thinks this takes priority.

With a sandwich in one hand, he reopened his laptop in the family room to try again. He was so concentrated on his work he didn't realize someone looking over his shoulder. But there could only be one who would stoop so ungracefully.

"And what can I do for you Fuyumi?"

"Just wondering what has got you hold up in your room all week. Couldn't be finals since that's a few weeks away still. Club maybe? Problems with that girl in your club?"

Even when she doesn't have a clue what is going on, she can still hit the nail on the head. But he wasn't going to admit that, that would spill Haruhi's secret and what fun would that be?

"Ball preparations. It's in about two weeks, so we need to continue planning."

"I see," She was quiet for a moment, "And this Momiji Sohma will help with that?"

His fingers stumbled over the keys but righted themselves in a second's time, which of course confirmed her suspicions.

"Yes, he is a backer. He wanted to contribute to our club."

Even to him it sounds like a bad lie, but that's what she makes him into, a sappy individual. He relies too much on her, probably because she understands and recognize his talents more than the rest of his family. Well except for his mother, but she can't comfort like Fuyumi can with their father around. Not that this family provides much comfort. This family is more like a game of chess meets Russian roulette. But that just makes it even more enticing to play.

He tries to change the topic, "Didn't Father tell you to not come here anymore since you are married now?"

"Yes, but I like it here, plus I'm worried about you. You get caught up in Father's games and he plays you like a puppet. But you probably will say you are the puppeteer in this house."

She ruffles his hair and says before leaving, "Well get back to looking at the Sohma's background to help your friend."

He gives her a look, "I can put two and two together. You don't do anything without cause, especially for someone you care about and the only one who could be connected somehow to the Sohma's is that girl. Father knows a Sohma Doctor by the way. I think his name is Hatori. Why don't you ask him tomorrow?"

This was news to him, but it makes sense. His father is a CEO of The Ootori Group, a group of medical and healthcare physicians. So, knowing a Doctor with the name Sohma would be immensely crucial to his social standing. And he already met this Doctor Hatori at Haruhi's house when this all started. So, all he needs to do is search his Father's company backers and see if he can find this physician's office. He also found out that the twins designer friend, Ayame

Sohma, has a shop about thirty minutes away. He'll go there tomorrow after school, then he'll go to see this Doctor.

ꬸ

Pulling up to the shop, Kyoya gets out of the car and immediately hears shouting from inside. He gets closer.

"You shouldn't have gone I tell you, Akito is pissed and that will only hurt her more."

"I know but I had to try."

"And now he wants to confine her more! Just like what he wants to do with her brother except this time it's a room instead of an actual cage." The first voice complained in a higher voice than the other men.

"Same thing isn't it?" The third voice was a bit gruffer than the others, it's also familiar.

"Well, there's nothing for us to do now. We just need to keep an eye on Akito." The Third huffs.

"It's not like we can refuse him though." The second says quite indulgently.

"True but Hatori is right, all we can do is wait." The first ends the conversation.

By now Kyoya was leaning against the wall listening but with this ebb in the conversation he thinks it best to go in now. He sees a black-haired girl in a maid's outfit. She's dancing around this white-haired man in Chinese looking clothes that looks slightly different, but he couldn't tell how.

The man was talking to two black-haired men, one in a kimono and one in a suit. The suit guy Kyoya immediately recognized as Hatori Sohma, who is the first to notice him standing there.

"Can we help you?" He eyes Kyoya with sharp eyes, recognition dawning in his eyes but his face impassive.

"Yes, I was looking for Ayame Sohma, I wanted to buy a dress for my sister."

"That's me." The white-haired man sang. "What kind of dress does she like? Is she here? I could get her measurements. Or is this a surprise?"

"It's a surprise, her birthday is next month."

"Do you know her measurements? What type of dress does she like? Formal or informal? What color do you want it? What does she look like? Do you have a picture of her?"

The man rattled off questions at him and he did his best to answer truthfully. Hatori stares at him the whole time, probably wondering what his game is.

"Come on Hatori," The Kimono wearing man pleaded, "take me home now, my dear Tohru and Anri are probably worried about me by now."

"You just want to eat." Hatori responded back.

"Yes but…" He stops and quickly eyes Kyoya who pretends not to notice. "Never mind, we'll continue our conversation later."

They turn to go. This wouldn't do. His luck brought all these Sohma's together, he needs to get them to stay.

"Anri you said? My friend Haruhi has been acting quite Strange this past few weeks. Then all of a sudden she wants me to call her Anri. Do you men know anything about this?"

Crap. He didn't want to be that straight forward, but he's desperate. The men all stop in their tracks. The kimono man looks at him confused and warry. Hatori set his lips in a straight line, eyes demanding not to go forward with his questioning. Ayame and the black-haired girl stood still, Ayame staring at him, the girl looking from Ayame to Kyoya.

"Who are you really?" The Kimono guy says.

"Kyoya Ootori. I am friends with Haruhi Fujioka. Like I previously stated she's been acting off lately, it started after Doctor Hatori here came to her house to talk to her. She wouldn't tell me what she talked about but the next day she was gone. The week after she was back at school, but she wasn't living at her house. She then requested that I call her Anri. I was wondering what you men know about this?"

The men stare at each other, the two men giving a more ferocious glare toward Hatori.

"What does he know? How does he know?" Kimono man asks.

"She came back to her adopted father's house that day with a group of friends. All boys. Six of them." Hatori shrugs, "I had to tell her to come back in the front yard instead."

The Ayame looks surprised at the taller man. "What?! Six boys?! What is she thinking? That is way too dangerous! What if something had happened? I assume she spends her time with these boys if she's bringing them home. My, my, and her adopted father knows about this and still lets it happen? This is trouble. Should we tell him?"

The Kimono man shakes his head vigorously, "We can't, that would ruin her. She just got her whole life uprooted; her school is the only thing she has of her previous life. If he hears about that she would have to leave, and she earned her way in there, so it wouldn't be right to take her away. And you know she wouldn't be allowed to leave his side if she does leave."

Hatori nods, "Your right. He wouldn't let her leave now. She'll be as trapped as her brother. She must tell the school that she's a Sohma but she's planning to do that after the Ball they are having shortly but is that enough time? I don't think he's patient enough to wait that long, he'll check up on her and once he sees her with six guys… well, that can't happen. Ayame, can you distract him until then? Shigure look after her and make sure she immediately tells the school after the Ball."

Both men nod looking grave and doubtful. "I can make some new wardrobe for him. That'll take a good two weeks."

"I can look after her, but at school…"

That's when the men remember Kyoya is still standing there hearing all of this.

"But in school you could be our eyes and ears, yes? For Haruhi's sake?" The kimono man, now known as Shigure, phrased the last part in a question as if he wasn't sure if he would really look after her.

"I will but only if you tell me what's going on. Where is she? Why all the secrets? What are you hiding?"

"We'll tell you all we can, but some secrets need to remain in the family." Hatori says as Ayame slipped in the back to talk to the girl who left while the man was talking.

With a nod of Kyoya's head they told him that the patriarch of the family wanted his prized family member back after Haruhi's father gave her to his coworker years earlier. Well, the men said pet instead of a family member, but Kyoya couldn't picture Haruhi as someone's pet; she wasn't the servient type of person at all which she proves time and time again.

She was now living with Sigure and her brother along with another Sohma kid plus one outsider that they were shocked that she was allowed to stay. They explained that the reason why they were shocked was because how cruel he is, how he stabbed Hatori in the eye just because he wanted to marry a woman not of his blood. How Haruhi's brother was the disgrace of the family and that he'll be thrown in a cage for the rest of his life if he doesn't get stronger than the other Sohma kid living with them. They sounded like they knew he'd never beat him, that he was destined to be in that cage. That's all they told him though.

He knew that there was more, he didn't push though. He was just thankful to be included now. With him assigned to keep an eye out at school and the rest of the Sohmas assigned tasks to keep the patriarch and Haruhi separate, Kyoya left. He was serious about wanting a dress for his sister, so he did tell Ayame about her to his liking before leaving. Now he needed to prepare how he was going to do this. He needed to help her. He already promised to tell the Hosts about it in a way that wouldn't flip them out, which he was pretty sure they'd do anyway. Although even though Haruhi wants the Hosts to know before the school, he knows she wants to wait until after the party. So, he has two weeks to come up with and initiate a plan.

11/29/ 2018


	10. Chapter 8- Truth Hurts!

Chapter 8- Truth Hurts!

Kyo left school early. He just wanted to; it was one of those days. He spent the day on the roof. He didn't want to do anything.

Voices jerk him awake. Looking down he sees Yuki and Tohru walk inside the house.

Going down he hears Tohru in the kitchen getting ready to cook. Yuki isn't in sight. He sneaks up behind Tohru and drops his head onto her shoulder. This slightly startles her, but she doesn't comment.

"You left early today."

"Just wanted to sleep."

"You skipped school for that? You could of went to the nurse's office instead. Did you sleep well?"

"hmm." He pushes his face into her shoulder smelling the sweet aroma of her skin. She pauses for a second but doesn't move away.

"Your still tired?"

He doesn't answer. She continues chopping up lettuce.

He slightly falls to sleep like this but Tohru just sighs. At least while she is chopping he can stay like this, though this position is already getting her nervous. He must be really be tired. Maybe a storm is on the way.

Once done cutting she calls out his name, but he doesn't answer. She moves slowly around to face him which wakes him up. They are so close their noses are almost touching.

He hears footsteps retreating from the room and when he whips around his sister is slowly backing up from the doorway. "Um, sorry to interrupt." Anri apologizes. Blushing, Kyo insults Tohru's cooking and backpedals it to the other side of the kitchen. Anri gives him a weird look before going to change so she can start helping Tohru.

"How is she getting to school?" Tohru asks. "Isn't her school half an hour away?"

Well that is a quick recovery for the girl, his heart is still bouncing out of his chest. Why did he do that? Well if she's going to act calm so can he.

"I don't know. That's a good question." he says, glad his voice sounded normal to him. "I'm guessing Hatori is taking her but he's gotten busier with Akito and other priorities. So I have no clue how she's getting to school now."

"Hmm," She starts stirring some ingredients together. "I hope she's alright. I know when my Mom died and I was on my own, I was very sad, and I thought I had to carry the sadness on my own. I think she's doing the same thing. She's keeping her feelings to herself and not letting anyone else help her shoulder it."

She goes to the other side of the kitchen to get more ingredients, "Luckily, I found you guys to help me. It's a little different for her though. She hasn't seen any of you since she was a kid. She has no connection to us besides the little bit of memories of her younger days. I, at least, knew Yuki through my school, which lead me to all of you who taught me it was alright to lean on someone. She isn't allowed to talk to her adopted father, and because of the curse she can't talk to her friends at school about this. I just wish she could have someone to lean on. Oh, I didn't mean she couldn't end up leaning on us or anything, I'm just saying it must be hard. I mean-" she cut herself off in embarrassment.

They stay quiet for another moment soaking in what she said. Kyo knows she is correct. He doesn't want her to be correct. He wants to know that Anri believes he can help her. That she has more memories of him than the day she left. He knows she is correct and that hurts.

"It's okay, I know what you just said is true, but I still wish it isn't." He wants to put his hands on her back or shoulders to comfort her. He hates seeing her all frazzled up like this… he secretly likes it too, it's… cute.

He shakes his head of these absurd thoughts. Why are these thoughts going through his head? Another good question is why is he so tired? He certainly is tired enough to do something stupid like let his feelings be shown by resting against Tohru. And he was caught by his sister! Could today get any worse?

She stops cooking and looks at him. "Is everything okay? Really?"

"Yeah, I'm just worried she's not liking it here. I mean she has to deal with the rat like us and that can damper anyone's mood, but… I don't know… we've changed so much since we were last together and I don't know if she's happy here or not. I'm going upstairs call me down for dinner."

He runs off and climbs on the roof again until Anri calls into his room as she passed to come down to dinner. A few minutes into dinner he decides to ask Anri some questions.

"Hey, who is taking you to school anyways?"

Anri stops mid-bite, ramen hanging from her mouth. She quickly sucks it up, taking a minute to decide if she should answer truthfully or not.

"First it was either Hatori or Kureno who took me to school, but I was getting in the way of their jobs and personal matters, so I got one of my school friends to take me."

"Oh, who?" Shigure inquires.

"Um, you won't know them I don't think."

"Now that's got my attention." Kyo says. "Come on we're all curious now."

Thinking no way out of it she admits, "Kyoya Ootori."

Silence.

"A GUY IS TAKING YOU TO SCHOOL EVERY MORNING?"

Wincing Haruhi nods. "Ah, yeah, it's no big deal or anything. He doesn't do it for free though, he got me doing extra club work."

"I thought you were in a club with girls. What type of work is he making you do? Are you his housewife now?!" Kyo is furious.

"Um, maybe we should let her explain before we get mad at her." Tohru, always the amiable person she is, suggests.

But the thing is, she didn't want to answer. What could she say that would possibly justify riding to school with a guy without spilling her secret?

They continue to stare at her until she was too uncomfortable. "I ugh, gotta go do homework." She starts to get up.

Kyo pulls her back down. "Oh no you don't. Explain!"

She feels stuck in a corner, he feels betrayed. Kyo looks around at the other stunned faces. Wait, not all stunned. Shigure sits there, still eating.

"You knew, didn't you?" Kyo accuses.

"Hm," He conforms, "When she said she was helping with the ball last Sunday. That ball is thrown by the Host Club of the school, they entertain girls, no girls are hosts themselves. Only one girl considers herself the manager. But this Kyoya Ootori is actually the manager."

"Wait so you mean she is pretending to be a guy as a host?! She's surrounded by guys then?! How is that even possible? Do they know? How have you not been found out yet? Does Akito know?" Ten thousand questions flood Kyo's mind, only half come out of his mouth.

"No one knows anything. It's fine. Well, Kyoya knows that I was adopted and that I am a Sohma, but that's all he knows." Haruhi confides.

"Hm, not so much. Ayami, Hatori and I told him everything about the family but the curse."

"WHAT? Why did you do that?" Kyo yells. Haruhi looks at Shigure in pure shock.

"Wh-When?" Haruhi stumbles.

"Last Friday when I went to see Ayami at his shop. Mr. Ootori came by. He wanted to know about us. He wasn't as subtle as he thinks. Haha. I admit you have a good friend there. He just had your best interest at heart."

"So, someone knows about us. And we are not going to tell Akito?" Kyo couldn't believe it. "Again, how have you not been found out though?"

Haruhi looks down at her hands wishing to leave. She doesn't answer.

"Answer god damn it!" Kyo yells and jerks her chin up looking into her afraid eyes.

She slaps his hand away and runs out of the house.

Kyo takes a step back, he can't think of why she would put everyone in jeopardy like that. It's hard enough going through public school, but those are rich bastards that doesn't care about anything but their own interests. Why would she join a club that is only guys? They would have to know by now she's a girl. And if they know she's a girl, the logical next step is that something would have happened that would prove that she's a girl. And there is only two ways they would know. He just wishes that it wasn't the curse, but then again, he hopes that those guys didn't see her nude; he'd have to kick some terrible ass if so.

"Damn it." He whispers, backing up against the wall, slowly sliding down and burying his head in his arms. Tohru rubs his arms, trying to calm him. Yuki sits quietly, his face pale white and blank, remembering the past.

Shigure stares at the three leftover teens in his house. He knew when he said it that it would cause trouble, but not this much. He forgot this part of what Akito did to Anri and Yuki so long ago. Kyo didn't know about it so he didn't know not to take her chin in his hands while looking her in the eyes.

"Yuki. Look at me. It's alright. That's in the past. You don't have to bear it anymore."

Yuki looks up at his older cousin pain and sadness in his eyes. "I, nor Anri, are not free of it until Akito lets us go. Even then, we will be under his control through memory and his possessiveness. As long as he is our god, it can and will happen again." He shakily gets up and goes to his room.

"What did he mean? What did Akito do? What will happen again?"

Shigure sighs, "You shouldn't have touched her chin like that. Akito-he did that action while he made her hurt Yuki and while they did… other things. As you know they are his favorites. Well, they might be his favorite but since they were always by his side, he took out his anger on both. Except it wasn't until later that he liked to punish us with his own hands, he made Anri hurt others.

Especially Yuki, since he knew both of those kids didn't want to be by his side, he made Anri hurt him. This he knew hurt her the most than seeing him punish Yuki, it was herself. That kind of broke them. If your father didn't take her away to give up, then she would have really broken. With your mom dead, you disgraced and your dad wanting out, she would have stayed with Akito as his permanent pet. I'm afraid she would have lost herself if she stayed there. Now that she's back-"

He didn't finish letting Tohru and Kyo fill in the blanks. "He wants them back. They will go there almost every day after school. She is to quit her club and even though she will be at her school still, she will have to change her name and thus change her status at the school. He is already wrecking her, who knows what will happen once she starts to regularly stay with Akito."

Kyo couldn't believe what he was hearing. How didn't he know about this? He knew that sometimes Akito hit them. But to force a little girl to hurt someone she's by every day? He couldn't imagine what exactly he made her do and didn't want to.

"I'm going to go find her."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I think I need to do this alone."

Tohru nods and they help each other stand.

He starts with the backyard and works his way all around the estate, but she is nowhere to be seen. He tries to call her, but it goes to voicemail. He tries again, this time it goes through.

"Sorry Kyo I missed your first call. I'm with Kyoya, we're going to one of the Hosts houses. I'll be home late. Sorry again." She hangs up before he can say anything. Well damn, she sounded like she was going to cry. Fine he'll wait but he will talk to her. He goes back home to tell the rest where she is.

4/2/19 A/N OMG did you guys see the Fruits Basket reboot! I went on Tuesday to the theatre release and it was AMAZING! It not just followed the manga but expanded on it to where it was like I was living it with them. I can't wait for more! And after four months I finally released a chapter and working on the next. Hopefully I'll go back to once a month posting again. Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 9-The Ootori Family Becomes Curi

Chapter 9- Ootori Family Becomes Curious!

Haruhi walks into Kyoya's house. Well, small mansion. She is still upset by what just occurred at the house. She knew that she overreacted when she ran away, but she had to get away. Earlier once she was outside her house, she proceeded to have a panic attack. In the middle of the attack her phone rang. She picked up immediately knowing who it was without looking at the screen. A few minutes later she was waiting at the edge of the property for Kyoya to pick her up, shaky but calmer than when she was in the house.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" Kyoya's voice jerks her out of her reverie.

"No thanks." She walks around the space that she assumed was the living room but looks more like a lavish meeting area with couches and T.V. instead of desk and chairs. She stops at the family picture. "You're probably charging me for just being here. Is this really you as a child? You look so… removed. Your eyes are really focused though as if you are trying to convey your determination to the world."

Bingo. Like always she hits the target. He avoids the family conversation and hits her target spot, "Hm, don't worry the only charge is telling why you decided to call me at seven at night to come take you away from your family with tears in your eyes. Or do you not want to talk about it?" He doesn't let her answer, they both know it was rhetoric, "Could it be that your family head, Akito was it, wants you to do something you don't want to? Or is it your family making you do this something?"

She was quite for a while, staring at the family photo. She didn't even comment that he was the one to call her or make a remark about her crying in front of him. Although he did bring up a touchy subject immediately after. No wonder she's mute right now.

"Family's something, huh?" She comments suddenly, snapping his attention back to her. "You can have the most perfect family who's willing to die for you, or you can have a screwed-up family that wants you out of their life or to make your life miserable. But family is family. You don't even have to have blood relations to them- it could just be a family of friends like us- all you have to do is just want to have them in your life and want to protect them. That's what true family is. I guess that's why people with bad homes stay more often than not. They can be the most annoying troublesome people in the world but if they are your family, you're willing to go to the end of the world for them." She turns to Kyoya, "You know most of our family secrets because of Shigure and the others. But just knowing that would get your memory wiped, if you learn anything more, things could get dangerous."

Her voice is passive, like she wants to not care what his choice is but when she was talking about family it was more wistful like she wanted to believe what she herself was saying. She would be a good Elite if she tried, but knowing her, Kyoya thinks she'd rather have nothing than be that sort of person. He doesn't respond to her chosen fact but contemplates her meaning. What she said was an interesting notion. He guesses that is why he stays with his own family. Did they have a way to wipe memories? Hypnotism most likely. But why would they erase someone's memories in the first place? He decides to mull it over later.

"Feeling better now?" Kyoya asks as he sets a glass of tea in front of her.

"Yes, thank you." She sips the drink knowing he purposefully changed the sour topic. A silence that had an air of awkward, yet peacefulness falls over the room once again.

"So, club talk. How are the preparations for the ball going?"

"It's going well. Since we decided on the theme yesterday, I ordered all the necessary trappings, they will be here in time for the ball, they'll set up next weekend. All we must do now is wait and pick out outfits. Well, you don't, Tamaki and the twins have that covered."

Sighing Haruhi puts her glass down. "Great, they'll probably have me wear big puffy dresses or something against the theme. They seem to forget that I am supposed to be a male student at school."

He nods his agreement then shrugs, "I'm sure they wouldn't be that absent minded."

Haruhi gives him a pointed look making him chuckle. "Maybe a little." He amends.

"Do you like being in the club Haruhi?"

"What?" She says surprised.

This question surprised himself, he wasn't the type of person to ask such a question, even if it has been on his mind for quite a while.

"I know originally you started attending the club to pay off the debt from the vase you broke. What I am asking is if you are… having fun?" He says the last words as if he's never uttered those words before, like the concept of fun was just out of grasp for him.

Blinking she automatically responds "Of course I am. All of you are like a family to me. I can't picture how my life would have turned out if you guys weren't there. I knew I'd eventually be brought back home like I did, that's one reason why I chose to not get too close to anyone. Sure, I had acquaintances at school, but I kept them as school friends only- never going anywhere with them. I thought it would have been sooner than this that I would have been dragged home and there wouldn't be anything to stop me from switching schools like Akito wants. I don't know why he didn't. Although, I think you guys changed my perspective of things more this last year. I think I've become a better person thanks to you all. I'm not as weak as I once was."

"Weak was one thing you never were Haruhi and you know it." He chuckles a bit.

Haruhi thinks of Akito and everyone else, she hurt them, she damaged them. All because she couldn't say no to Akito. This fact makes her weak.

Reading her face Kyoya says, "I don't know what you are thinking right now but I am telling you this; you are many things Haruhi but not weak. Whatever your thinking about most certainly has to do with your family. And I will say this and this only. You are not trapped there. You have Ranka and all of us. You might even have support from some of your family there. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. And if you are trapped by memories, then embrace them then accept them. You can't change the past, just remember the good things and move forward."

Seeing her accept the words and soak them in he decides to give her a little grace and change the subject. "Now, it's past ten at night and it's an almost hour ride to your house. Or I could drop you off at Rankas if you prefer to stay longer."

Fear clouds her face for some unknown reason. "Um. No. That's fine. We can leave now. Thank you so much and sorry for all the trouble."

Before they could leave Yoshio and Akito Ootori walk in. They stop talking when they see the two there. "Ah, who is here this late at night?" Akito asks as he glares at Haruhi with vicious and superior eyes then directs his glare at his younger brother.

Kyoya looks at his father and brother with his business face on. He is refusing to answer, probably thinking of a reply that wouldn't cause the men to over think their relationship. Haruhi decides to step in, "I am Haruhi Fujioka." She uses her other last name because that's how the school knows her by.

She leaves it like that, short and sweet and waits for their comments and sure enough Yoshio takes the bait. "Oh? So, you are the scholarship girl who joined the Host Club to pay her debts? Yuzuru has told me a lot about you."

The mention of the chairman of their school and Tamikis father gives Haruhi a curious thought, wondering what exactly the chairman told this medical head. Was he even aloud to talk about her? She doesn't know which bothers her because she is supposed to become a lawyer after she graduates- so this simple information shouldn't slip her attention.

She guesses that these two are very uptight. Straightening she channels her host self, which isn't very different than herself. "Yes, I'm sure he has. Nice to meet you Mr. Ootori, Mr. Ootori, I've heard a lot about the two of you also." Haruhi gives them the same glare Akito did while bowing.

As she is saying this a light laugh echoes the room. Leaning in a woman glances at the Ootori men and smiles sweetly at Haruhi. "Oops, sorry. Did I interrupt? Who's this?"

She looks at Haruhi like she already knows the answer, "Haruhi Fujioka ma'am. It's nice to meet you."

"Aren't you cute! Why are you here so late though?" She looks at Kyoya and they have a silent conversation that ends with Kyoya huffing and his sister smiling.

"This is my sister Fuyumi. She's leaving."

"Aw don't be like that. Oh, Father, Mother wants to talk to you."

"Alright thank you. I assume you are leaving now Miss Fujioka.? Have a safe ride home."

"Thank you, Sir." Yoshio walks away as Akito stares at Haruhi.

"Yes?"

"You seem like more trouble than a commoner should be."

"I don't know. That's your own opinion. I just try to stay out of people's way. I'm more of a background character. But if need be it would depend on if you're on my side or not."

"Ha and what do you think you can do?"

"Just gotta wait and see I guess."

"Akito let's go, we still need to discuss some things about the meeting tomorrow." Yoshio says.

As they walk away the doorbell rings. Yoshio shoos off the servant that goes to get it and answers himself. Standing there is Hatori and Momiji.

"Who are you?" Akito asks from behind his father.

"Pardon me so late, my name is Hatori Sohma; you might know of me."

"Doctor Sohma! What brings you here at this hour? We are not supposed to meet until tomorrow?" Yoshio exclaims as the man ignores him and the petit boy rushes past to Haruhi.

"What are you doing here?" Haruhi interjects as she's refusing to be led out the door by Momiji.

All eyes turn to her. "Kyoya called me. I was already talking to Shigure who told me what happened. Your brother said you came here. I was picking Momiji up already from his Karate classes, so I decided to come pick you up as well. Unless you were planning to stay here or go to your father's house- which the result doesn't have to be said, no?"

She looks over at Kyoya who has an impassive face. "You guys are suffocating. I know the rules I don't need a babysitter."

"Yet you missed your meeting with _HIM_."

Silence fell like a curtain, the air turning frosty. "That is my choice and mine alone."

"You left Yuki alone with him."

Shit. Wide eyes she silently asks if he's alright. Hatori nods. "Let's go, it's getting late." Translation: we can't talk about it here so get into the car.

"... Alright." She turns to Kyoya. "Thank you for today, I'll see you at school tomorrow." She bows and says a polite goodbye and was nice to meet you to the three other Oootori's, two of which is still in shock before departing.

"Well they were… interesting." Fuyumi says while hiding a laugh. Which of course means 'I don't know what is going on but seeing this shock look on your two faces is worth any price.' but then says uninterestedly, "Though Mother is still looking for you."

"Right…" The head of the house says as he shacks himself out of his stupor. He turns to Akito, "While I'm gone find out about this scholarship girl, I take it _you_ won't tell me anything." He emphasizes the last part to Kyoya who shrugs.

"I will advise you not to but knowing you, you won't take my heed. But keep in mind if you do anything to her that I would not like, then you might have to face the Sohma's too."

Yuzuru narrows his eyes at his youngest child, knowing that he's suggesting having the Sohma's back out of supporting his company; which wouldn't hurt them too much but will cause a rift between them and any future endeavors the company might take on. "Is that a threat?"

"It's a warning. The Sohma's don't take too kindly to people who try to mess with what's theirs. They themselves are included in this sentiment and anyone else they deem worthy and apparently Haruhi falls under that."

"When did you get all friendly with the Sohma family? Did you pull her into this?"

"No, quit the opposite." He made eye contact with his sister knowing she was reading his computer behind him when he first dived into this mess. She didn't know anything, but she was smart and who knows how long she was looking over his shoulder for- she could easily figure this out if she tried.

Shaking his head Yuzuru heads to find his wife leaving his three kids behind.

"I'll make sure tomorrow if I have to look more into this girl of yours. If Dad still wants me to, I will do it."

"I won't stop you, but I promise the Sohma's will."

Akito nods slowly. "I don't know what you got yourself into little brother, but I hope for all our sakes it won't end badly for us. The Sohmas might be close to gods in Japan but they are still too mysterious. They might be doing something we don't want to step in. Don't sully the family name for that nobody girl."

Furry ragged in Kyoya's eyes but his expression remained stable. "No wouldn't want that." He says sarcastically. He watches his brother rise up the stairs before focusing his gaze on the last Ootori member.

Raising an eyebrow at her she just smiles back. "Don't listen to them so much. Protect her. She looks like she needs as much people to back her up as possible right now. But then again it looks like she won't take someone protecting her for free so maybe do so from behind the curtain and not that brazenly, 'kay?"

"How much have you figured out Fuyumi?"

"hmm, nothing. Although I think she's a part of the Sohma family. I don't know how close though. Probably not that close if she's a scholarship student. But then again she might be trying to get away from them and branching off from them." She shrugs, "Don't know, I don't have much of an interest either. She's just so cute that I don't want Father or brother to do something to her." She gives a fierce grin, "Say why don't you make her apart of the family! It would be so adorable to have a cinnamon roll like that as my sister!"

Kyoya snorts, "Sorry sister, but even if she is a Sohma, she serves me nothing as a marriage partner since she's going into law- not doctorial. She will not serve any purpose."

"Still… if she is a Sohma her name alone would serve a purpose. I can see that you care for her. Why not bring her into the family?"

"I do not like her that way. She is a school colleague, nothing more. Anyway, she wouldn't like it, she was raised as a commoner- she doesn't fit into our class."

"But she's learning through your school and your club. Anyone can be high-class if given the opportunity. She has the determination and the attitude for it. Just remember what she said to brother!" She laughs, "and 'raised a commoner' meaning she had a choice of something else. I wonder what that could be dear brother." She gives a sly grin.

"That face doesn't suit you. And no, she didn't, she was born and raised with the commoner attitude and that makes her worthless as a wife."

"Phooey. You are no fun."

"I'm done here if you need me, I'll be in my room."

A/N: 7/24/19


End file.
